Middle East Conflict Lifts Shipping Costs as Shanghai-New York Container Spot Rate Hits $10,948

Ongoing tensions in the Middle East continue to affect the global shipping market. Non-contract container freight rates from China to the US East Coast have approached record highs. The Shanghai-New York route is one of the busiest and most profitable services for global container lines including MSC, Maersk, COSCO Shipping and CMA CGM. The spot rate on the route now stands at $10,948 per 40-foot container, more than triple the level since the Iran conflict broke out on February 28, 2026. The route's rate set a record of $11,900 in January 2022.

The Middle East conflict has continued to widen recently. The United States and Iran exchanged attacks again in the Strait of Hormuz and sank several oil tankers; Saudi Arabia has become embroiled in a conflict with Yemen's Houthi armed group and shut a critical east-west oil pipeline after coming under air strikes. As a result, international crude oil prices have surged sharply again recently. The related events have pushed up the average price of marine low-sulfur fuel oil across 20 global ports, which most container ships use. On Thursday, the price of marine low-sulfur fuel oil was $901.50 per tonne, above $543.50 per tonne on February 27 but below a peak of $1,053 per tonne on March 20.

Container shipowners typically pass on higher costs through surcharges and other pricing measures. Affected by the shipping peak ahead of the National Day Golden Week holiday, cargo owners such as Walmart and Amazon are stepping up shipments from China before Chinese factories shut for a long break in early October. The latest data from the World Container Index show that on Thursday the Shanghai-New York spot rate rose nearly 7% week on week to $10,394 per 40-foot container. Different institutions use different methodologies for calculating spot rates, producing different results.